A Kitten Named Bunny
by Niemh
Summary: He had replayed the whole scene from before over and over again and realized that he really had been a baka. He had felt so much jealousy.. so much anger at what? A freaking kitten! An annoying kitten, but one that had made Rukia so happy..." I/R


Alright...So, this is my very first Bleach fanfiction. I admit... I was terrified to write it. I absolutely love Ichigo and Rukia as a pairing but they have such a special dynamic that I've never been able to bring myself to write a fanfic about this because I knew I'd never get it right. Oh well. Finally, with prompting from the Bleach Asylum's IchiRuki Fanclub due to the "Challenge of a Day" they're hosting... I decided to try.

The theme for the day was 'kitten' by the way and when I was thinking about... this situation popped into my head and I tried my first Ichi/Ruki fanfic. I really am sorry if I got them all wrong... I did try!

---

"_I thought one midget was enough."_ Ichigo mused to himself in silent anger as he scowled at the petite dark haired girl who was sitting across the room from him. _"But this is getting ridiculous."_

The forgotten pencil in his hand ripped sharply at the paper underneath its point, but Ichigo didn't notice since he was so wrapped up in watching _her_ watch _him_. This him that Rukia seemed to love so much. This him that had caused her to stop drawing pictures of angry teddy bears with bright orange hair in favor of something apparently more lovable. This him that was currently lounging in the arms of Ichigo's girlfriend, looking perfectly at peace as though he belonged there.

Of course, Ichigo really had no reason to feel threatened. Rukia's newest companion was, after all, just a tiny ball of fluffy black fur, no bigger than his fist. The two of them had found the small little kitten just a little over a week ago while they were walking home from school on a stormy day.

Rukia, who apparently had a penchant for saving those trapped in the rain, decided instantly to take him home. Ichigo, naturally, had refused at first but when he saw the sweet smile on Rukia's face and the warm look in her bright violet eyes as she gazed down at the kitten, his resolve instantly softened.

And, unfortunately he was now regretting that decision and cursing the day that once again, he had given Rukia exactly what she wanted. Had he said no before, his girlfriend wouldn't be so distracted all the time. She would probably be laying in his lap rather than keeping that damn furball curled up in her's.

On second thought, that wasn't actually true. Had the kitten never been found she would probably be sprawled out on the ground like usual reading some weird shoujo or downstairs with Yuzu helping with dinner.. but that was beside the point. And the point was that Rukia was now too busy with her new friend to pay attention to him even though he was her nakama, partner, and boyfriend all mixed into one. That fact alone was slowly beginning to drive him insane.

"Rukia!" He said, turning around in his chair as a particularly brutal wave of jealous surged through him. "Oi! Rukia!"

The petite girl didn't even flinch but instead continued to smile at the small kitten in her lap while she dangled a piece of string for him to paw at playfully.

"Oi! RUKIA!!!!" Ichigo finally snapped, yelling out her name rather loudly. This finally did the trick. Rukia looked up at him instantly, her brows knit into a frown. "What is it Ichigo?" She asked him in an annoyed tone. He scowled back.

"I just…" Crap. Ichigo hadn't thought this out. He had been so mad at the fact that she hadn't been giving him any attention that he didn't know what to do now that he had it.

"…er, have you heard from Soul Society about any hollow attacks?"

Rukia's large eyes instantly narrowed. "Have you heard any beeping recently?"

"No."

"Have you felt any foreign reiatsu?"

"No."

"Then there's your answer, Fool. Don't ask stupid questions."

Ichigo scowled and turned around in his desk chair, trying to drown out his anger and jealousy by doing a few math problems but was soon distracted by the sound of Rukia's voice in the background.

"No Bunny! Don't claw at my dress. Here, take this instead."

"You named your kitten Bunny?" Ichigo said, swiveling around in his chair once again.

"Of course."

"You can't do that!"

"Why not?" Rukia's asked sharply. "He's cute… like Chappy!"

"But you can't give one animal another animal's name! It's just…" Ichigo's eyes suddenly widened when he saw what the small furball was now scratching at with his tiny, yet razor sharp clothes. "My shirt!" He said, leaping up so that he could rescue his old "Nice Vibe" tee, which had always been a favorite of his.

"Rukia!"

"What? It's fine."

"Fine my ass!" Ichigo yelled as he held out the shirt, revealing several small holes and an enormous rip down the center. "It's ruined!"

"I don't see a problem." She responded stubbornly. "And it's fine if I say it's fine."

Ichigo scowl, if possible, deepened even more. He was sick of this! He was sick of that damn kitten and the way Rukia constantly fawned over it. The stupid puffball was a nightmare and he wasn't going to deal with it any longer.

"That's it! That's the last straw! The cat goes!" He yelled.

"Ichigo!"

"Now!"

"But Ichigo!"

"I don't care what you say Rukia. That furball is nastier than Grimmjow! This is my house! Get him out!"

Rukia didn't say anything more, realizing that Ichigo was serious. With a scowl on her face, she picked up Bunny and began to march right out of Ichigo's room, refusing to give so much as a glance to him. However, before she could leave the room, she turned to him and yelled "Baka!" as loud as she could before stomping out.

Feeling victorious, as it was probably the first time Rukia had ever done what he said, Ichigo collapsed down on his bed with a triumphant grin.

---

Three hours later, he was miserable. _"Damn Midget!"_ He thought to himself for the thousandth time. _"Where is she? Could she really be that mad?"_

He didn't want to answer that. He had replayed the whole scene from before over and over again and realized that he really had been a baka. He had felt so much jealousy.. so much anger at what? A freaking kitten?! An annoying kitten, but one that had made Rukia so happy, one that had made her smile.

Ichigo had promised to himself long ago that Rukia's smile was the most important thing of all to him. He had sworn to defend it at all costs and yet he had betrayed that pledge simply because he was jealous. Jealous that that damn cat had made her smile instead of him.

He sighed outloud as he realized that it was time to get over his resentment and accept the stupid hairball even if it did use his shoe as a litterbox. But first… he had to get Rukia to forgive him and in order to do so he had to find her….

A sudden sound from across the room alerted him to the fact that he wouldn't have to go far as Rukia suddenly jumped through his window.

"Rukia!" He called out, his voice filled with relief. Her response was a glare.

"I'm here to gather Bunny's toys then I'm going to bed." She replied, her voice as cold and authoritative as it was the very day he met her. Ichigo wasn't sure what to say but when she moved to walk out once more, he quickly panicked.

"Wait!" Ichigo called out, instinctively grabbing her wrist to keep her from leaving.

"Where were you?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Somewhere."

Ichigo frowned, knowing he was getting no where. "Where's the cat?"

"Not here."

Ichigo finally cracked, unable to take her responses anymore. "Damn it Rukia! Will you give me a proper response, already?!"

Rukia looked up at him, her usually vivid violet gaze suddenly as frosty as her zanpakuto.

"No."

Ichigo's usual scowl deepened as he stared down at the petite, infuriating girl before him but he knew it was no use. At school, many of his classmates ran from him just at the sight of his frown… however, things were different with Rukia. She wasn't the least bit afraid of him… and in fact, he knew that if his looks could intimidate, then her's could kill. Easily.

"So you're just going to be angry at me then?"

"I'm not angry, Ichigo. I just don't understand why you were so mad at Bunny. What did he ever do to you?"

Ichigo stared at her in disbelief before scowling once more. "What did he do? What did he do? That fluffball was a nightmare!"

"First," Ichigo began as he raised up a finger and began to pace around his room. "He used my shoes as a litterbox! Twice!"

"But he's just a kitten." Rukia tried to intervene, but Ichigo was far from done.

"Then he ripped up my Othello book!"

"He didn't know what it was!" Rukia tried again, but Ichigo wouldn't listen.

"Now he's ruined my favorite shirt, and he scratched Kon up so badly Ishida is still trying to stitch him back together!"

"Kon had it coming and you know it!"

"But that's not all!" Ichigo fired back. "That's not even the worst of it! All week you've fawned over that kitten. You've played with him, bought him catnip, doodled his freaking picture everywhere… and.." He turned and pointed his finger at her accusingly. "You even watched Chappy with him!"

Rukia blinked at him in confusion. "So?"

"We watch Chappy together!"

Rukia's eyes narrowed even further in bewilderment. "And you always complain about it. You hate Chappy."

"That's not the point! We watch it together! But you were too busy with 'Bunny!' You didn't want to go get icecream or see a movie or go to the arcade all because of 'Bunny!' Ichigo snapped, before he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. "It was really annoying."

Realization dawned on Rukia's face as she watched her boyfriend turn away, and her wide violet eyes suddenly brightened with understanding.

"Ichigo.. were you jealous?"

Ichigo's body instantly tensed and Rukia didn't need to see her boyfriend's face to know it was likely more pink than Yachiru Fukutaichou's. Quietly, she walked towards him and laid her hand gently on his shoulder. At first, his body remained as rigid as ever, but eventually he began to relax under her touch, especially as she calmly ran her fingers up and down.

"Ichigo…"

The softness of her voice along with the gentle contact of her hand finally did its trick as Ichigo turned his head to look at her.

"You are such a Baka!" Rukia told him, her grip on his arm suddenly becoming not so gentle. Bewilderment filled Ichigo's face before he scowled once more.

"What do you mean I'm a Baka?! All week you…." He suddenly forgot what he was going to say as Rukia threw her tiny arms around his waist and buried her face against his chest. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, reveling in the fact that there was no kitten around to interrupt or to take away from moments like this.

"You should have just said something, Idiot." Rukia told him, her voice muffled by his shirt until she pulled her head away. "I missed you all week, but you always seemed so angry that I…"

Ichigo didn't let her finish as he bent down and kissed her, his heart fluttering happily when she admitted she missed him, too, despite the fact that they had been together for awhile now. He suspected she'd always have that effect on him.

The two of them stood there for a minute or two (or maybe ten), utterly lost in each other. They no longer needed words to convey just how badly they had missed each other until Rukia suddenly pulled away and looked at him mischievously.

"Wait, so all this time you were just jealous of a kitten?"

Ichigo began to blush once more which was quickly followed by a scowl. He did not appreciate the interruption nor did he like where this was going.

"Shut up, Midget."

"Honestly Ichigo, did you think he and I were going to run off together? Maybe elope?"

"Shut up Midget!"

"Hey! Don't get so angry. Just because you were threatened by a little, tiny cat doesn't mean…."

"Where is that cat anyways?" Ichigo asked, not only out of desperation to avoid Rukia's teasing but also out of curiosity as to where she decided to put his great rival.

"Oh, I brought Bunny over to Orihime's. She met him earlier this week and loved him, so I thought she might like to keep him."

Ichigo tried not to sound too happy and too eager as he asked. "And uh, did she agree to take him?"

Amusement gleamed in Rukia's eyes. "Yes Ichigo. Bunny won't be living here anymore."

"Good." Was all Ichigo said as he gathered his girlfriend in his arms once more and once again resumed kissing her. He could not help but to smile against her mouth as the usual feeling of happiness that he got whenever he was kissing Rukia flowed through him once more. Slowly but surely, their kisses began more and more eager, and they were soon making their way over to his bed when Rukia suddenly pulled away, mischief once again shining in her bright eyes.

"Oh, and Ichigo. If you won't let me have a cat, then I definitively want a bunny. And I'm going to name him Kitten this time! Or maybe Strawberry! I haven't decided."

Ichigo could do nothing but roll his eyes and groan.

---

I really hope I did them at least some justice. They really are such a great pairing and I just adore them.. but they are so hard to write! Haha... anyways, thanks for reading and any reviews would be deeply appreciated.


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